Comment Archives: stories: News: Last 7 Days

If I had one to bet, I think I could safely bet my ranch that the dollar amount the Interior Department agreed to in the Cobell settlement was only pennies on the dollar of what they actually owed the First Nations people (never mind the accrued interest due), after 100 or more years of incompetent bookkeeping and accounting and intentionally, systematically screwing them over, including outright criminal fraud.

The radicals and extremists are, obviously, Jennifer Fielder and the American Lands Council and their ilk, not BHA and its supporters who, as the article points out, merely want to maintain the status quo.

I love the way the ALC and the motorheads and their cohorts have co-opted the language. Just a few common examples : "Multiple Use" now has the connotation of only extractive uses - logging, mining and grazing; "recreation" and "access" have come to mean only - in their minds - motorized recreation and access. What do they think they have legs and feet for ? Looking at most of them, getting their fat asses off their motorized contraptions and walking or skiing some of that lard off would do them a world of good.

In response to the comment below.... The pipeline in the Yellowstone was very old, very shallow and doesn't even compare in quality and safety compared to the state of the art pipeline that will go under the river north of the Rez in ND. There are thousands of river and stream pipeline crossings in the US. And yes, many of them are very old and may need replaced. But can you imagine if all those billions of barrels of oil had to be hauled by rail tankers?? That would be a disaster with the extra emissions, chances of derailments, and the staggering amount of rail traffic going through populated areas. No brainer!!!

Jr2jr2000, not a damn one of your four complaints about Ms. Juneau are at all relevant.
So what if she's a Native American, a liberal, a lesbian, AND a woman ?
BTW, I believe most lesbians are women, but maybe you know something I don't.

Delighted to read the account of the closing of Missoula`s rivers to motorized watercraft. I was involved in that worthy and successful effort. Nobody had a job title but mine would have been designated bitcher. The FWP did a very thorough and conscientious job of examining the issues both pro and con. The Clarkfork Coalition teamed with a number of local river-use organizations teamed up to represent opposition to the power boaters who didnt bother showing up until the fourth hearing. Then they showed up bigtime!
FWP was forced to move the meeting to a bigger venue. The power boaters out-numbered the flyfishermen, inner tubers, dog-walkers, rock-skippers and yes, tree- huggers by a considerable margin. TheMainEvent started with an accusation from the power boaters that the objection they were adressing was initiated by Green tree-huggers from California that were out to own the river for themselves. The response was quick and heated. The Rockthrower General confronted his youthful accusor by stating that he (the Rockthrower General ) had lived in Missoula since 1960. He accosted the power boat spokesperson asking "how long have you been here Sonney?" Things went downhill from there. But one chief objection had been put to rest. The protesting consortium was from Missoula!

Hopefully on Jan. 20, 2017 this will be reversed. Why would any one in their right mind think that thousands of oil tankers daily, pulled by a train, crossing the river on a bridge, would be safer than the pipeline, which will be the safest ever built?? It has high tech safety measures that will shut down the flow immediately if there is a leak anywhere on the system. A bunch of closed minded yoyos who have nothing to do but protest. And I bet my bottom dollar at least 80% of the natives protesting don't work (and may never have worked), and have sucked off of taxpayer money all their lives. The reservation system has done nothing but keep most natives in poverty at the expense of the working taxpayer.

Well written Dan! Concise, to the point and dead-on accurate! Denise Juneau is a product of the Montana educational system. A darn fine product! Im not certain that she belongs in politics where facts are there to be manipulated.
Somebody has let the air out of UMs tires. Dosent matter who. We need to limp into a gas station muy pronto. We dont need a genius. The problem is well defined. UM needs a leader that faculty, staff and local people will follow without hair-tearing and garmet wrending. I nominate Denise Juneau. Dave Dickensen is busy.

The "Green Decoys" are a sly way of appearing to be hunters, fishermen, etc when they are really extreme environmentalists.

For example,Jackson Hole has at least a dozen of the "Green Decoy" organizations which ask for donations from hunters, fishermen, motorized recreationists only to use that money to close the forest to all but their interests.

I'm in! Just gotta figure out some way to stay in Missoula over the winter! I love curling. It's in my blood and bones. Just ask David, he knows what it's like. Next winter, I'm curling even if I've gotta sleep in a dumpster. Tim

No, no she can not. Working with her at OPI, it was obvious that she could not even manage that office effectively. Much more of a spokesperson than a real leader. Also, she knows very little regarding higher education and is unfit for job. The UM needs someone experienced with modernizing liberal arts programs, mending faculty relationships, and increasing enrollment. Juneau is just not qualified. She would make a fine high school superintendent or maybe even dean of a small two-year college, but she is not capable of leading UM.

I got a degree in History from UM in 2008. I can tell you, cuts to the History Department are just fine. I say that because I know the faculty and the lecture halls can only do so much. In fact, they don't really do anything. It's your willingness to get to the library, read your books, and do your writing that's important...not some old fogey dependent on your tuition dollars to pay for his healthcare and retirement.

I've written 7 history books and UM had nothing to do with that. It was my own decision, my own get-up-and-go, and my own hard work and discipline.

Students - and graduates - succeed because of how much they care and how much they work, not because of the size of their program or department.

I don't want to disrespect the private landowners' issues in this lawsuit, which as far as I can tell are legitimate. However, from my work that involved writing comments and the Objection to the Westside timber sale, there are more profound issues that relate to the direct damage to national forest land from logging and road construction. And of course, the fact that taxpayers are subsidizing timber mills, based upon fraudulent agency and industry "science." This pseudoscience is based on the false proposition that nature can't heal the forests, if humans jsut get out of the way. And that somehow these fire-prone ecosystems can be made safe for homeowners by logging miles away from homes. In other words, they want to "make the forests great again!"

This is the exact same propaganda the Forest Service is using to justify logging all over the national forest system. And that should be of concern to all of us national forest "landowners"--the American public.

These issues get left behind when the media focus on these more narrow private interests.

Beth - you have no clue about the causes of climate change. Carbon dioxide isn't the culprit, as the science proves that CO2 does not drive climate change - other factors, such as the precession of the equinoxes, have more effect than CO2. In fact, increases in CO2 typically occur AFTER the temperature has already begun to rise. If CO2 was the cause, then CO2 would have to begin to increase BEFORE the temperature began to increase. For a comprehensive review, see the link below.

The State has 6 lawyers ??? These folks have one?? This reminds me of "One flew over the" you know the rest. What a sad state we live in when we can't even take care of our most needy ones and they end up warehoused like animals. This is criminal and I hope these poor folks can somehow find justice in a broken system that has ignored them for who knows how long.

This is insane. How the Missoula city council thinks this ordinance is somehow a good idea is beyond me. It's unconstitutional. It's wasting taxpayers' money. And I don't know of one, single gunowner that supports this, contrary to what the article says.